Marketing, advertising & media intelligence

The good ship Special Group continues to steam ahead, taking home yet another Grand Prix (and US$10,000) for its greedy 'Orcon + Iggy' campaign at the AdStars gala awards at Busan in Korea. Adstars is a fairly unique competition because entry is free and the top prize is cash. As a result, it attracts thousands of entries from agencies across the globe (including DDB and Colenso in Auckland, which picked up the $10,000 last year for its Alzheimer's work).

Most should know the story of the Orcon campaign by now, but, to recap, it was remarkable in that it was basically a product demonstration for an ISP that was made interesting. The Orcon product was actually used to enable a world-first and connect nine Kiwis from their homes in New Zealand to Iggy's studio in Miami, where they re-recorded the classic track 'The Passenger'.

Special wasn't there on the night (what, again?) so the award was collected by craft judge Stephen Douglas from DigiPost in Auckland.

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Why we like it: Nearly 10 years after its arrival in the market, 2degrees is making itself and its values known with a new brand campaign. While the services of the telco, including phone and internet, are intangible and encourage an esoteric approach to the marketing, this spot cleverly connects 2degrees with what it's all about: communication. With a mellow backing track and soft-voiced narrator, it explores all the different forms of communication while throwing in some humour like missing teeth and subtly calls out women for wearing activewear when visiting a cafe.

Who's it for: Samsung by Colenso BBDO and Flying Fish

Why we like it: Blink and you'll miss it. Samsung went bold to launch its new Galaxy S9 by placing 25 of the phones around a set that in five-seconds erupted into a display of colour and movement. The slow-motion video, the result of the display, highlights the camera as well as the technical nouse of Colenso BBDO and Flying Fish who bravely accepted the challenge and shot it all in front of a live audience.

Who's it for: Holden by Special Group

Why we like it: Faced with the challenge of people thinking its Australian factory was closing down, Holden's responded with this spot showing that's far from the case. As well as responding to the challenge at hand, the ad cleverly includes some promotion of specific car features and confirms the brand is here to stay by discussing what it has in store in the future.

Why we like it: How do you change your name and make consumers aware of it? This spot by Scapegrace by Rogue Society Distilling Co, formerly Rogue Society, does just that. It also helps customers accept the change by explaining the reason behind it, which in this case is a bonus lesson in international trade laws. StopPress' audience has responded well, with compliments for both the brand and agency and we agree it's a great piece of work.